Employers have admitted being turned off by potential employees after seeing their Facebook snaps. A new study from a leading photo book website has revealed that over two thirds of employers admit to ‘regularly’ checking out candidates’ social media profiles when recruiting for a role.

Many have junked a candidate based on social media photographs. The study, conducted by www.MyMemory.com, aimed to find out more about how employers use social media when recruiting and whether or not their findings ever influenced their decisions when it came to choosing candidates.

More than 68 per cent, of the employers taking part said “yes”, whilst just 12 per cent gave a definitive “no” answer. The remaining fifth, 20 per cent, claimed that they “sometimes” checked the social media profiles of prospective candidates.

Those who regularly or “sometimes” checked were asked what social media platforms they used the most when checking out candidates, and were able to choose multiple answers. LinkedIn topped the poll with 58 per cent, closely followed by Facebook (55 per cent) and Twitter (53 per cent). When asked “Have you ever discarded a candidate based on aspects of their social media profiles?” 79 per cent said “yes”.

The reasons people were spiked were mostly because of too many people showing off snaps when they we drunk. But the use of Inappropriate Language, poor grammar and spelling, aggressive online behaviour were all there. More than 91 per cent of total respondents to the study admitted to typing candidates’ names into a search engine, to see what web page results come up.